Two weeks before the November election, attack ads started showing up on Facebook targeting independent and Democratic state legislative candidates.
“Calvin Schrage is no independent,” said one of the ads, referring to the independent candidate for a House seat representing the Anchorage Hillside. “He is a typical liberal Democrat.”
This ad attacking independent Anchorage state House candidate Stephen Trimble came from the Council on Good Government. Most of the Council on Good Government’s money came from the Republican State Leadership Committee, whose largest Alaska donor in the lead-up to last year’s election was telecommunications company GCI.
The group paying for the ads, the Council on Good Government, received nearly all of the $380,000 it raised from a single group: the Washington, D.C.-based Republican State Leadership Committee. But only after votes were counted did the RSLC have to reveal its own donors, who contributed a total of $8.5 million to deploy weeks before Election Day.
When the RSLC did file that report with the IRS, it showed just one large Alaska donor: GCI. The Anchorage telecommunications giant gave the RSLC $100,000 in early October — one day before the group reported transferring $75,000 to the Council on Good Government.
Of the seven Republicans who voted to convict former President Donald Trump, only Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is up for reelection in 2022. But a new Alaska election system with an open primary and ranked-choice voting may protect the incumbent.
Murkowski voted to convict the former president on Feb. 13 for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Murkowski told reporters after her vote that she stands by her decision regardless of its possible detrimental effects on her 2022 chances.
“This was consequential on many levels, but I cannot allow the significance of my vote to be devalued by whether or not I feel that this is helpful for my political ambitions,” Murkowski said.
The Senate acquitted Trump, falling 10 votes short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to convict. Murkowski was the first Repubican senator to publicly state that Trump should resign, telling the Anchorage Daily News that he “has caused enough damage.” She also told the paper that she blames Trump for Republicans’ Senate losses in Georgia.
Two weeks before the November election, attack ads started showing up on Facebook targeting independent and Democratic state legislative candidates.
“Calvin Schrage is no independent,” said one of the ads, referring to the independent candidate for a House seat representing the Anchorage Hillside. “He is a typical liberal Democrat.”
This ad attacking independent Anchorage state House candidate Stephen Trimble came from the Council on Good Government. Most of the Council on Good Government’s money came from the Republican State Leadership Committee, whose largest Alaska donor in the lead-up to last year’s election was telecommunications company GCI.
The group paying for the ads, the Council on Good Government, received nearly all of the $380,000 it raised from a single group: the Washington, D.C.-based Republican State Leadership Committee. But only after votes were counted did the RSLC have to reveal its own donors, who contributed a total of $8.5 million to deploy weeks before Election Day.
When the RSLC did file that report with the IRS, it showed just one large Alaska donor: GCI. The Anchorage telecommunications giant gave the RSLC $100,000 in early October — one day before the group reported transferring $75,000 to the Council on Good Government.
Of the seven Republicans who voted to convict former President Donald Trump, only Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is up for reelection in 2022. But a new Alaska election system with an open primary and ranked-choice voting may protect the incumbent.
Murkowski voted to convict the former president on Feb. 13 for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Murkowski told reporters after her vote that she stands by her decision regardless of its possible detrimental effects on her 2022 chances.
“This was consequential on many levels, but I cannot allow the significance of my vote to be devalued by whether or not I feel that this is helpful for my political ambitions,” Murkowski said.
The Senate acquitted Trump, falling 10 votes short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to convict. Murkowski was the first Repubican senator to publicly state that Trump should resign, telling the Anchorage Daily News that he “has caused enough damage.” She also told the paper that she blames Trump for Republicans’ Senate losses in Georgia.
This Alaska onAir hub supports its citizens to become more informed about and engaged in federal and state politics while facilitating more civil and positive discussions with their representatives, candidates, and fellow Alaskans.
Alaska onAir is one of 50 state governance and elections hubs that the US onAir Network is providing to reinvigorate our imperiled democracy.
Virginia onAir is US onAir’s model of how a state’s onAir Council and curators can enhance a state Hub with fresh Top News and state legislature content, moderated discussions, and production of zoom aircasts with committees, interviews and debates with candidates, and presentations.
For more information about the many opportunities to learn about and engage with this Alaska onAir hub, go to this US onAir post on the US onAir central hub.
Our two minute vision video about the US onAir network is below.
This Alaska onAir hub supports its citizens to become more informed about and engaged in federal and state politics while facilitating more civil and positive discussions with their representatives, candidates, and fellow Alaskans.
Alaska onAir is one of 50 state governance and elections hubs that the US onAir Network is providing to reinvigorate our imperiled democracy.
Virginia onAir is US onAir’s model of how a state’s onAir Council and curators can enhance a state Hub with fresh Top News and state legislature content, moderated discussions, and production of zoom aircasts with committees, interviews and debates with candidates, and presentations.
For more information about the many opportunities to learn about and engage with this Alaska onAir hub, go to this US onAir post on the US onAir central hub.
Our two minute vision video about the US onAir network is below.
Current Position: Governor since 2018 Affiliation: Republican Alaska onAir Post
Michael James Dunleavy (born May 5, 1961) is an American educator and politician serving as the 12th governor of Alaska. Dunleavy was a Republican member of the Alaska Senate from 2013 to 2018.
He defeated former Democratic United States senator Mark Begich in the 2018 gubernatorial election after incumbent governor Bill Walker dropped out of the race.
US Senators
Senator Lisa Murkowski
Current Position: US Senator since 2003 Affiliation: Republican Alaska onAir Post
Lisa Ann Murkowski (/mɜːrˈkaʊskiː/ mur-KOW-skee; born May 22, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States Senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after Susan Collins of Maine. Like Collins, Murkowski is often described as one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate and a crucial swing vote.
Murkowski is the daughter of former U.S. Senator and Governor of Alaska Frank Murkowski. Before her appointment to the Senate, she served in the Alaska House of Representatives and was elected majority leader. She was controversially appointed to the Senate by her father, who resigned his seat in December 2002 to become governor of Alaska. Murkowski completed her father’s unexpired Senate term, which ended in January 2005.
Senator Dan Sullivan
US House Member
Don Young
Current Position: US Representative since 1973 Affiliation: Republican Alaska onAir Post
Donald Edwin Young (born June 9, 1933) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the U.S. representative for Alaska’s at-large congressional district since 1973. He is the Republican Party’s longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives and of Congress in history, having represented Alaska for 25 terms.
Young is currently the longest serving member of Congress, as well as the last remaining member who has been in office since the Nixon Administration; he became the 45th dean of the House of Representatives on December 5, 2017, after the resignation of John Conyers from Michigan. He is also the oldest current member of either chamber of Congress. Before the special election following U.S. Representative Nick Begich’s death in a plane crash, he was mayor of Fort Yukon from 1964 to 1967 and a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1967 to 1971 and the Alaska Senate from 1971 to 1973.
Young is the only member of Congress ever to have served during four of the five presidential impeachment processes, having served during Nixon’s, Clinton’s, and both the first and second impeachments of Trump.
Two weeks before the November election, attack ads started showing up on Facebook targeting independent and Democratic state legislative candidates.
“Calvin Schrage is no independent,” said one of the ads, referring to the independent candidate for a House seat representing the Anchorage Hillside. “He is a typical liberal Democrat.”
This ad attacking independent Anchorage state House candidate Stephen Trimble came from the Council on Good Government. Most of the Council on Good Government’s money came from the Republican State Leadership Committee, whose largest Alaska donor in the lead-up to last year’s election was telecommunications company GCI.
The group paying for the ads, the Council on Good Government, received nearly all of the $380,000 it raised from a single group: the Washington, D.C.-based Republican State Leadership Committee. But only after votes were counted did the RSLC have to reveal its own donors, who contributed a total of $8.5 million to deploy weeks before Election Day.
When the RSLC did file that report with the IRS, it showed just one large Alaska donor: GCI. The Anchorage telecommunications giant gave the RSLC $100,000 in early October — one day before the group reported transferring $75,000 to the Council on Good Government.
Of the seven Republicans who voted to convict former President Donald Trump, only Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is up for reelection in 2022. But a new Alaska election system with an open primary and ranked-choice voting may protect the incumbent.
Murkowski voted to convict the former president on Feb. 13 for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Murkowski told reporters after her vote that she stands by her decision regardless of its possible detrimental effects on her 2022 chances.
“This was consequential on many levels, but I cannot allow the significance of my vote to be devalued by whether or not I feel that this is helpful for my political ambitions,” Murkowski said.
The Senate acquitted Trump, falling 10 votes short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to convict. Murkowski was the first Repubican senator to publicly state that Trump should resign, telling the Anchorage Daily News that he “has caused enough damage.” She also told the paper that she blames Trump for Republicans’ Senate losses in Georgia.
Summary
Federal & state elections on the ballot: US Senator, House member, and State Senate and House members
Ballot measures:
The Alaska Division of Elections oversees all Alaska elections.
Two weeks before the November election, attack ads started showing up on Facebook targeting independent and Democratic state legislative candidates.
“Calvin Schrage is no independent,” said one of the ads, referring to the independent candidate for a House seat representing the Anchorage Hillside. “He is a typical liberal Democrat.”
This ad attacking independent Anchorage state House candidate Stephen Trimble came from the Council on Good Government. Most of the Council on Good Government’s money came from the Republican State Leadership Committee, whose largest Alaska donor in the lead-up to last year’s election was telecommunications company GCI.
The group paying for the ads, the Council on Good Government, received nearly all of the $380,000 it raised from a single group: the Washington, D.C.-based Republican State Leadership Committee. But only after votes were counted did the RSLC have to reveal its own donors, who contributed a total of $8.5 million to deploy weeks before Election Day.
When the RSLC did file that report with the IRS, it showed just one large Alaska donor: GCI. The Anchorage telecommunications giant gave the RSLC $100,000 in early October — one day before the group reported transferring $75,000 to the Council on Good Government.
Of the seven Republicans who voted to convict former President Donald Trump, only Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is up for reelection in 2022. But a new Alaska election system with an open primary and ranked-choice voting may protect the incumbent.
Murkowski voted to convict the former president on Feb. 13 for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Murkowski told reporters after her vote that she stands by her decision regardless of its possible detrimental effects on her 2022 chances.
“This was consequential on many levels, but I cannot allow the significance of my vote to be devalued by whether or not I feel that this is helpful for my political ambitions,” Murkowski said.
The Senate acquitted Trump, falling 10 votes short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to convict. Murkowski was the first Repubican senator to publicly state that Trump should resign, telling the Anchorage Daily News that he “has caused enough damage.” She also told the paper that she blames Trump for Republicans’ Senate losses in Georgia.
Mail or hand-deliver your completed form to the address we provide.
Make sure you register before the voter registration deadline.
Election Day registration N/A
Voting Rights restoration
If you have been convicted of a felony and have questions about whether you can register to vote, visit Restore Your Vote to determine your eligibility.
In addition to bilingual assistance in many polling places, the division of elections has a TTY communication device for the hearing impaired, magnifying ballot viewers at the polling places and audio recordings of the general election official election pamphlet for the visually impaired, and handicapped accessible polling places.
You may bring someone to help you at the polls. The person you bring may go into the booth with you and assist you with voting. This includes election officials, friends, family members, bystanders, campaign workers and anyone else who is not your employer, an agent of your employer, or officer or agent of your union.
If you had planned on going to your polling place on Election Day, but become ill or are home-bound, you can vote by having a personal representative bring you a ballot. If this is inconvenient, you can apply up to seven days before an election for an absentee ballot to be mailed to you.
You may vote absentee in person 15 days before an election at all 40 regional elections’ offices and you can vote at the airport absentee voting stations on Election Day from 7:00am to 8:00pm.
Vote by Mail (Absentee)
Absentee rules
Any registered Alaska voter may apply for an absentee ballot and vote by mail.
How to get Absentee ballot
Use our Absentee Ballot form below to prepare your application.
Sign and date the form. This is very important!
Return your completed application to your Local Election Office as soon as possible. We’ll provide the mailing address for you.
All Local Election Offices will accept mailed or hand-delivered forms. If it’s close to the deadline, call and see if your Local Election Office will let you fax or email the application.
Make sure your application is received by the deadline. Your application must actually arrive by this time — simply being postmarked by the deadline is insufficient.
Please contact your Local Election Office if you have any further questions about the exact process.
What to do next
Once you receive the ballot, carefully read and follow the instructions.
Sign and date where indicated.
Return your voted ballot back to the address indicated on the return envelope.
Your voted ballot must be received by the close of polls on Election Day or it will not be counted. Ballots that are postmarked but not received by Election Day will not be considered on time.
In Person: Received 10 days before Election Day. By Mail: Received 10 days before Election Day. Online: Received 10 days before Election Day.
Absentee ballot (form)
Elections Alert (Form)
Polling Information
Polling Place Locator You can find your polling place here.
Polling Place Hours
The polling place hours are from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm for Primary, General and Statewide Special Elections and 8:00am to 8:00am for Regional Educational Attendance Area (REAA) elections.
Poll Worker Information
In order to be a poll worker in Alaska, you must:
Be registered to vote in Alaska
Be willing to work about 16 hours a day or more on Election Day, or share a position and work a split shift or attend four to five hour paid training session
Be willing to be non-partisan on Election Day and not say any political opinions while working
Not have any family relationships with a candidate on the ballot
The ballot measure would make changes to Alaska’s election policies, including:[1]
requiring persons and entities that make contributions that were themselves derived from donations, contributions, dues, or gifts to disclose the true sources of the contributions;
replacing partisan primaries with open top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices; and
establishing ranked-choice voting for general elections, in which voters would rank the four candidates that succeeded from the primaries.
On January 9, 2020, the campaign Alaskans for Better Elections filed 41,068 signatures for the ballot initiative. At least 28,501 (69.4 percent) of the submitted signatures need to be valid. On March 9, Lt. Gov. Meyer announced that 36,006 signatures were valid.
The Alaska State Legislature had the option to approve the proposal before the end of this year’s legislative session, which is expected to adjourn on May 20, 2020. Otherwise, the proposal will appear on the ballot for the general election on November 3, 2020.
Current Position: US Senator since 2015 Affiliation: Democrat Former Position(s): Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources from 2010 – 2013; Attorney General from 2009 – 2011
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), spoke at a press conference yesterday with seven of his Senate colleagues after participating in a classified briefing with testimony from General Austin Scott Miller, the former commander of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, regarding the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. Sen. Sullivan also discussed the briefing with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino on Fox News Channel’s America’s Newsroom this morning.
Below is a transcript of Sen. Sullivan’s portion of the press conference.
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think as we all came back from recess—I don’t want to speak for all the other senators here—but I can tell you, back home in Alaska, this was the number one issue that everybody was raising. I have never seen my constituents more upset, more mad, feeling that the country is humiliated and asking, ‘Where is the accountability?’
“We are beginning that accountability process and these hearings are going to be important. Keep an eye on one issue as we do these hearings: The military’s credibility versus the Biden administration’s credibility, because we are seeing the clearly evolving strategy of the Biden administration, which is to blame Trump and to blame the generals and to continue to claim that this was what President Biden said was ‘an extraordinary success.’ Everybody in America, everybody in the world, knows that this was not an extraordinary success.
“You may have seen this cover (from) The Economist: ‘Biden’s Debacle.’ It goes into just how badly this is going to harm America’s foreign policy interests strategically for years to come. But this is going to be tough for the military, because we’re going to ask them to be honest (and) to keep the credibility of the military, which is very much at stake as their highest priority.
“They’re going to be asked the questions—what they think about statements from this President and this administration, such as: this (withdrawal) was ‘an extraordinary success’; Al Qaeda has been wiped out in Afghanistan; our NATO allies were fine with the August 31 deadline; we have over-the-horizon capability to keep us safe. Every one of those statements is not true. We’re going to be asking our military members to weigh in on these statements.
“I will say, General Miller was asked a lot of these today and I would say, as expected with someone with his record of service to his country, he did a very admirable job. But it’s just beginning. Those are going to be the important issues. Thank you.”
Summary
Current Position: US Senator since 2015 Affiliation: Democrat Former Position(s): Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources from 2010 – 2013; Attorney General from 2009 – 2011
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), spoke at a press conference yesterday with seven of his Senate colleagues after participating in a classified briefing with testimony from General Austin Scott Miller, the former commander of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, regarding the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. Sen. Sullivan also discussed the briefing with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino on Fox News Channel’s America’s Newsroom this morning.
Below is a transcript of Sen. Sullivan’s portion of the press conference.
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think as we all came back from recess—I don’t want to speak for all the other senators here—but I can tell you, back home in Alaska, this was the number one issue that everybody was raising. I have never seen my constituents more upset, more mad, feeling that the country is humiliated and asking, ‘Where is the accountability?’
“We are beginning that accountability process and these hearings are going to be important. Keep an eye on one issue as we do these hearings: The military’s credibility versus the Biden administration’s credibility, because we are seeing the clearly evolving strategy of the Biden administration, which is to blame Trump and to blame the generals and to continue to claim that this was what President Biden said was ‘an extraordinary success.’ Everybody in America, everybody in the world, knows that this was not an extraordinary success.
“You may have seen this cover (from) The Economist: ‘Biden’s Debacle.’ It goes into just how badly this is going to harm America’s foreign policy interests strategically for years to come. But this is going to be tough for the military, because we’re going to ask them to be honest (and) to keep the credibility of the military, which is very much at stake as their highest priority.
“They’re going to be asked the questions—what they think about statements from this President and this administration, such as: this (withdrawal) was ‘an extraordinary success’; Al Qaeda has been wiped out in Afghanistan; our NATO allies were fine with the August 31 deadline; we have over-the-horizon capability to keep us safe. Every one of those statements is not true. We’re going to be asking our military members to weigh in on these statements.
“I will say, General Miller was asked a lot of these today and I would say, as expected with someone with his record of service to his country, he did a very admirable job. But it’s just beginning. Those are going to be the important issues. Thank you.”
Dan Sullivan was sworn in as Alaska’s eighth United States Senator on January 6, 2015. Sullivan serves on four Senate committees vital to Alaska: the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; the Armed Services Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Sullivan served as Alaska’s Attorney General and Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. As Alaska’s Attorney General, Sullivan’s number one priority was protecting Alaskans, their physical safety, financial well-being, and individual rights – particularly Alaska’s most vulnerable. During his tenure he spearheaded a comprehensive statewide strategy – the “Choose Respect” campaign – to combat Alaska’s high rates of domestic violence and sexual assault. Under Sullivan’s leadership, the Department of Law also undertook an aggressive strategy of initiating and intervening in litigation aimed at halting federal government overreach into the lives of Alaskans and their economy.
As Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Sullivan managed one of the largest portfolios of oil, gas, minerals, renewable energy, timber, land, and water in the world. Working closely with Alaska’s Governor and state legislature, Sullivan developed numerous strategies that spurred responsible resource development, energy security, and a dramatic increase in good-paying jobs across a number of critical sectors in the Alaska economy. He also developed a comprehensive plan to streamline and reform the state’s regulatory and permitting system.
Sullivan is one of a select number of Alaskan attorneys who has held judicial clerkships on both the highest federal and state courts in Alaska. He served as a judicial law clerk for Judge Andrew Kleinfeld of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Fairbanks, Alaska and for Chief Justice Warren Matthews of the Alaska Supreme Court in Anchorage, Alaska. Sullivan also served as a judicial law clerk/intern for Judge James L. Buckley on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Sullivan has a distinguished record of military and national security service. He is currently a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Since 1993, Sullivan has served in a variety of command and staff billets on active duty and in the reserves, including: TRAP Force Commander and 81mm mortar Platoon Commander, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable); Weapons Company Executive Officer, Second Battalion, Fifth Marines; Commanding Officer, Delta Company, Anti-Terrorism Battalion; Executive Officer, Echo Company, Fourth Reconnaissance Battalion; and Commanding Officer, 6thAir Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO). In 2004, Sullivan was recalled to active duty for a year and a half to serve as a staff officer to the Commander of U.S. Central Command, General John Abizaid, spending substantial time deployed in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, and Central Asia. In July 2013, Sullivan was recalled to active duty to serve with a Joint Task Force in Afghanistan focusing on dismantling terrorist networks and criminalizing the Taliban insurgency.
Sullivan served in the Administration of President George W. Bush as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Business under Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He focused on fighting terrorist financing, and implementing policies relating to international energy, economic, trade, finance, transportation, telecommunications, and Arctic issues. Sullivan also served as a Director in the International Economics Directorate of the National Security Council staff at the White House.
Sullivan earned a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University in 1987 and a joint law and Masters of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 1993. Dan and his wife Julie Fate Sullivan were married over 20 years ago in Julie’s hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska. They have three teenage daughters: Meghan, Isabella and Laurel.
Committees
Committee on Armed Services
Subcommittee on Airland
Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support (Ranking Member)
Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet
Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness
Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
Committee on Environment and Public Works
Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water and Wildlife
Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight
Current Position: US Representative since 1973 Affiliation: Republican Former Position(s): State Senator from 1971 – 1973; State Delegate from 1967 – 1971
Other positions: Senior member, House Natural Resources Committee
Quotes: Alaska has tremendous hydroelectric potential, and through it, we can provide communities w/ reliable, renewable energy. This month, @RepAnnieKuster and I introduced the 21st Century Dams Act, which will make significant investments to achieve these goals:
Featured Video: Congressman Don Young’s Closing Statement on Anti-ANWR Bill
When the chapter about the COVID-19 pandemic is written in Alaska’s history, it will be remembered as a time of resilience, shared sacrifice, and the never-give-up spirit that lives within all Alaskans. With new tools for economic development and prosperity, I believe Alaska can come back stronger than ever before.
COVID-19 exposed critical vulnerabilities in Alaska’s economy, which required emergency action to save a portion of the 2021 summer cruise season. The return of cruise ships to southeast Alaska brought much-needed economic activity to the region. But it also served as a reminder that, in the future, we cannot allow such a vital portion of our economy to be held hostage by a foreign country, in this case, Canada.
Make no mistake about it, without the passage of the Alaskan Tourism Restoration Act, Canada’s port closures would have doomed the 2021 cruise season despite our ability to mitigate COVID-19 on large cruise vessels.
To add insult to injury, Canada’s power to cancel Alaska’s 2021 cruise season was only possible because of a U.S. law known as the Passenger Vessels Services Act (PVSA). In short, the PVSA, enacted in 1886, does not allow foreign-flagged passenger vessels to make consecutive U.S. port stops without stopping at a foreign port in between.
Upon the expiration of the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, Canada will once again have de facto veto authority over Alaska’s cruise industry. As a result, we must reform the PVSA to protect the sovereignty of our tourism economy.
This summer, I introduced the Tribal Tourism Sovereignty Act, which will do exactly that.
My proposal is simple yet powerful: Large foreign-flagged passenger vessels that call on ports or places in the United States owned by Tribes or Alaska Native Corporations would be compliant with the PVSA’s foreign-stop requirement.
Summary
Current Position: US Representative since 1973 Affiliation: Republican Former Position(s): State Senator from 1971 – 1973; State Delegate from 1967 – 1971
Other positions: Senior member, House Natural Resources Committee
Quotes: Alaska has tremendous hydroelectric potential, and through it, we can provide communities w/ reliable, renewable energy. This month, @RepAnnieKuster and I introduced the 21st Century Dams Act, which will make significant investments to achieve these goals:
Featured Video: Congressman Don Young’s Closing Statement on Anti-ANWR Bill
When the chapter about the COVID-19 pandemic is written in Alaska’s history, it will be remembered as a time of resilience, shared sacrifice, and the never-give-up spirit that lives within all Alaskans. With new tools for economic development and prosperity, I believe Alaska can come back stronger than ever before.
COVID-19 exposed critical vulnerabilities in Alaska’s economy, which required emergency action to save a portion of the 2021 summer cruise season. The return of cruise ships to southeast Alaska brought much-needed economic activity to the region. But it also served as a reminder that, in the future, we cannot allow such a vital portion of our economy to be held hostage by a foreign country, in this case, Canada.
Make no mistake about it, without the passage of the Alaskan Tourism Restoration Act, Canada’s port closures would have doomed the 2021 cruise season despite our ability to mitigate COVID-19 on large cruise vessels.
To add insult to injury, Canada’s power to cancel Alaska’s 2021 cruise season was only possible because of a U.S. law known as the Passenger Vessels Services Act (PVSA). In short, the PVSA, enacted in 1886, does not allow foreign-flagged passenger vessels to make consecutive U.S. port stops without stopping at a foreign port in between.
Upon the expiration of the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, Canada will once again have de facto veto authority over Alaska’s cruise industry. As a result, we must reform the PVSA to protect the sovereignty of our tourism economy.
This summer, I introduced the Tribal Tourism Sovereignty Act, which will do exactly that.
My proposal is simple yet powerful: Large foreign-flagged passenger vessels that call on ports or places in the United States owned by Tribes or Alaska Native Corporations would be compliant with the PVSA’s foreign-stop requirement.
Congressman Don Young was re-elected to the 117th Congress in 2020 to serve his 25th term as Alaska’s only Representative to the United States House of Representatives. First sworn in as a freshman to the 93rd Congress after winning a special election on March 6, 1973, Congressman Young is today the Dean of the House and the longest serving member of the current Congress.
Congressman Don Young, beside his wife Anne, being sworn in for his 23rd term in Congress on January 3, 2017 Congressman Young served as Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee from 1995 to 2001 and then as the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee from 2001-2007. In the 110th Congress, Representative Young returned to the helm of the Resources Committee to lead his fellow Republicans as the Ranking Member. In the 112th Congress, he was chosen to serve as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs (IIANA) – a position he held until January 2017. After fulfilling a successful 6-year term as Chairman of the IIANA Subcommittee, Congressman Young was named Chairman Emeritus of the full House Committee on Natural Resources – a role that allows him to bring his years of experience and knowledge to all five of the panel’s Subcommittees. Today, Congressman Young currently serves as the most senior Republican on both the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and House Natural Resources Committee.
Congressman Young calls Fort Yukon, Alaska home; a remote village of approximately 700 people located 7 miles above the Arctic Circle in Alaska’s central interior region. Born on June 9, 1933 in Meridian, California, he earned his associate degree at Yuba Junior College in 1952, and his bachelor’s degree in teaching at Chico State College in 1958. Between earning these degrees, he served in the US Army’s 41st Tank Battalion from 1955 to 1957.
When he first moved to Alaska, Congressman Young made a living in construction and tried his hand at commercial fishing, trapping, and in the search for gold. In Fort Yukon he taught in a 25-student, 5th grade elementary class in the Bureau of Indian Affairs school. Constructed of logs, the school had a wood stove that kept his Alaska Native students warm in the sub-freezing, arctic winter. With the annual spring break-up of the river ice, he captained his own tug and barge operation to deliver products and supplies to villages along the Yukon River. Even today, he remains the only licensed mariner in Congress.
It was in Fort Yukon that Rep. Young met and married a young bookkeeper named Lu. Lu was always at the Congressman’s side and supported him throughout his public service career. Lu and Don were married for 46 years. They were blessed with and raised two daughters, Joni and Dawn, and 14 grandchildren. Mrs. Young passed away on August 2, 2009. Although Congressman Young never imagined finding love again, on June 9, 2015 he married Anne Garland Walton, a Fairbanks-area flight nurse and proud mother of two children and six grandchildren.
Congressman Young first entered public service in 1964 when he was elected Mayor of Fort Yukon. Two years later, Alaskan voters elected him to the State Legislature in Juneau where he served in the State House from 1966 to 1970, and later in the State Senate from 1970 to 1973. Just hours after being sworn in to United States House of Representatives in 1973, he found himself leading the historic battle for approval of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline. Often citing this as the single most important achievement in his career, Congressman Young stated, “Next to statehood itself, the most historical legislation passed that affected every Alaskan then, now, and in the future, was the passage of the pipeline legislation.”
That same year, his colleagues honored him as the “Freshman Congressman of the Year.” He went on to gain a key appointment on the then Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee where he pushed through the 200-mile fishing limit critical to Alaska’s fishing industry. He fought against federal control of lands and resources to which Alaskans are rightfully entitled – a battle he continues today with the same vigor. In 1997, he passed by a 419 to 1 vote, the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act, which sets guidelines and priority uses within our nation’s 550-plus wildlife refuges.
Congressman Young proudly serves as the “Congressman for All Alaska” and loves his role as the only Alaskan Representative in Congress. Renewed by the challenges and goals of the 117th Congress and his committee positions, Congressman Young will continue to champion legislation and funding for programs benefiting Alaska and the nation. His vision remains the same – to provide citizens with the opportunity for a better life not just for today, but also for tomorrow and the future.
Young chaired the House Natural Resources Committee from 1995 to 2001.
Young served as the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee from 2001 to 2007.
From 2011 to 2017, Congressman Young served as the Chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs, a committee responsible for directly overseeing legislation that impacts more than 100,000 Alaska residents.
Born and raised in California, Young moved to Alaska in 1959 after a stint in the U.S. Army. He worked various careers, including sailing and teaching, in the small city of Fort Yukon, where he was elected mayor in 1964. He entered state politics two years later, when he won a seat in the Alaska House of Representatives, and advanced to the Alaska Senate in 1970. In 1972, he ran for a seat in the House of Representatives against incumbent Democrat Nick Begich. Weeks before the election, Begich disappeared and was presumed dead in a plane crash, though he still posthumously won the vote. Young ran in a special election to fill the vacant post the following year, defeating Democrat Emil Notti. He was reelected to the seat 24 times.
In Congress, Young chaired the House Resources Committee from 1995 to 2001 and the House Transportation Committee from 2001 to 2007. The Associated Press said that he was known for his “brusque” and “off-color” demeanor, and The New York Times described him as having “cultivated the image of a rugged frontiersman”; his prominent personality, long tenure, and position as his state’s sole House member led to him occasionally being dubbed “Alaska’s third senator“.[1][2] In the late 2000s, he was investigated as part of a wide-ranging probe into corruption among Alaska politicians, though no charges were ever filed against him.
Young moved to Alaska in 1959, not long after it became a state. He eventually settled in Fort Yukon, then a city of 700 on the Yukon River, seven miles above the Arctic Circle in Alaska’s central interior region. He made a living in construction, fishing, trapping, and gold mining. He captained a tugboat and ran a barge operation to deliver products and supplies to villages along the Yukon River. At the time of his death, Young still held his mariner’slicense. During winters, he taught fifth grade at the local Bureau of Indian Affairs elementary school.[6]
Early political career
Young’s political career began in 1964, when he was elected mayor of Fort Yukon, serving until 1968. He ran for the Alaska House of Representatives in 1964, but finished tenth, with the top seven candidates being elected for the multi-member district.[7] He was elected to the State House in 1966 and reelected in 1968.[8][9] Young served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1967 to 1971. He said he “loved” the job before he “got ambitious” and ran for the Alaska Senate in 1970.[10] He served in the Alaska Senate from 1971 to 1973. He was elected to the two-member District I alongside long-serving Republican State Senator John Butrovich.[11] He said he “hated” the state senate and, after encouragement from his first wife, ran for Congress in 1972.[10]
In 1972, Young ran for Congress against incumbent Democrat Nick Begich. Weeks before the election, Begich and Representative Hale Boggs were in a fatal plane crash, but Begich nevertheless won the election. Begich, whose body was never found, was declared legally dead in December 1972. Young won the resulting special election to fill the seat in March 1973. He was reelected 24 times, usually without significant opposition, although he faced strong challenges in the 2008 primary election and the 1974, 1990, 1992, and 2008 general elections. He won his 2016 primary with over 70% of the vote and defeated Democrat Steve Lindbeck and Libertarian Jim McDermott in the general election with 50% of the vote to win his 23rd term in office.[12] He won again in 2018, against candidate Alyse Galvin, whose party was undeclared, with 52.6% of the vote.[13]
Democratic State Senator Nick Begich was elected to the House of Representatives in 1970 to succeed Republican Howard Wallace Pollock, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for governor of Alaska. Young ran against Begich in 1972 and placed second in the August 22 open primary with 13,958 votes (25.60%) to Begich’s 37,873 (69.45%).[16] Begich disappeared in a plane crash on October 16, 1972 (along with House Majority LeaderHale Boggs of Louisiana), 22 days before the general election. Begich won the general election with 53,651 votes (56.24%) to Young’s 41,750 (43.76%)[17] but was declared dead on December 29.
Young ran in the special election on March 6, 1973, and defeated Democrat Emil Notti, 35,044 votes (51.41%) to 33,123 (48.59%).[18] He won a full term in 1974 with 51,641 votes (53.84%) to Democratic State Senator Willie Hensley‘s 44,280 (46.16%).[19] He was sworn into the House of Representatives on March 14, 1973.[20] He credited his victory to his leadership of the fight for the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System.[21]
Young watches as President Donald Trump signs The Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018
Young was reelected with at least 55% of the vote in each of the next seven elections. He defeated former State Senator Eben Hopson with 71% of the vote in 1976,[22] State Senator Patrick Rodey with 55.4% of the vote in 1978,[23] Kevin “Pat” Parnell with 73.8% of the vote in 1980,[24] and Dave Carlson with 70.8% of the vote in 1982.[25]
In 1984 and 1986, Young defeated Nick Begich’s widow, Pegge Begich, 113,582 votes (55.02%) to 86,052 (41.68%), and 101,799 votes (56.47%) to 74,053 (41.08%), respectively.[26] He defeated Peter Gruenstein with 62.5% of the vote in 1988[27] and then faced John Devens, the mayor of Valdez, in 1990 and 1992. Young defeated him by 99,003 votes (51.66%) to 91,677 (47.84%) in 1990[28] and then faced a serious challenge in 1992. He was challenged in the Republican primary by State Senator Virginia M. Collins and defeated her by 24,869 votes (52.98%) to 19,774 (42.12%).[29] In the general election, he defeated Devens, 111,849 votes (46.78%) to 102,378 (42.82%).[30] This was both the lowest winning percentage of his career and the only time he won without a majority of the vote.[31]
Young defeated former Alaska Commissioner of Economic Development and 1992 Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Tony Smith with 56.92% of the vote in 1994,[32] State Senator Georgianna Lincoln with 59.41% of the vote in 1996,[33] and State Senator and former Speaker of the Alaska House of RepresentativesJim Duncan with 62.55% of the vote in 1998.[34] He defeated attorney Clifford Mark Greene with 69.56% of the vote in 2000[35] and with 74.66% of the vote in 2002, the largest winning percentage of his career.[36] He received 213,216 votes (71.34%) against Thomas Higgins in 2004, the most votes he ever received in a single election.[37] In 2006, he defeated writer, dramatist, and video production consultant Diane E. Benson with 56.57% of the vote.[38]
Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell announced his candidacy in the August 26 Republican primary. Parnell was strongly supported by Governor Sarah Palin and the Club for Growth.[39] Young was endorsed by Mike Huckabee‘s political action committee, Huck PAC, in June.[40]
Young won by 304 votes (0.28%), and Parnell declined to seek a recount.[41] Before the announcement of the unofficial results, both candidates had said that they would request a recount if they lost.[42] The state of Alaska pays the costs of recounts when the difference is within a half percent, as it was in this primary election.[43]
In 2010, Young ran for a 20th term.[48] He was challenged in the Republican primary by John R. Cox and Sheldon Fisher, a former telecommunications executive, winning with 74,117 votes (70.36%). He defeated Democratic State Representative Harry Crawford[49] in the general election, 175,384 votes (68.96%) to 77,606 (30.51%).[50]
In 2012, Young drew two challengers in the Republican party, but defeated them with 58,789 votes (78.59%).[51][52] In the general election, he defeated State Representative Sharon Cissna by 185,296 votes (63.94%) to 82,927 (28.62%).[53]
In 2014, Young received 79,393 votes (74.29%) in the Republican primary against three challengers.[54] In the general election, he defeated Democrat Forrest Dunbar, 142,572 votes (50.97%) to 114,602 (40.97%).[55] Young was the only statewide incumbent in Alaska to win reelection that year,[citation needed] as Republican Governor Sean Parnell was defeated by Independent Bill Walker, and Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Begich was defeated by Republican Dan Sullivan.
In 2016, Young received 38,998 votes (71.5%) in the Republican primary against three challengers. In the general election, he won with 50.32% of the vote against Democratic challenger Steve Lindbeck with 36.02% and Libertarian Jim McDermott with 10.31%.[56]
In 2020, Young ran for a 25th term.[58] He won the Republican primary with 77% of the vote in a three-way race.[59] In the general election, Young again defeated combined-ticket nominee Alyse Galvin with 54.4% of the vote.[60]
Tenure
At the start of the 116th Congress, Young was the longest-serving current House member. Due to his long tenure in the House and that of former Senator Ted Stevens, Alaska was considered to have had clout in national politics far beyond its small population (it is the 4th smallest, ahead of only North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming). He was often called “Alaska’s third senator”.[61] On March 5, 2019, he became the longest-serving Republican in congressional history, surpassing Joe Cannon.[62]
1990s
After the 1995 Republican takeover of the House, Young chaired the Committee on Natural Resources, which he renamed the Committee on Resources. The name was changed back by Democrats in 2006 and has since been retained by Republican chairs. He chaired the committee until 2001, then chairing the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure from 2001 to 2007.[63]
In March 1998, Young brought a bill to the House floor allowing voters in Puerto Rico to vote on continuing its commonwealth status or becoming either a state or independent. The legislation passed by a single vote.[66]
2000–2010
In the 2005 Highway Bill, Young helped secure $941 million for 119 special projects, including a $231 million bridge in Anchorage named Don Young’s Way.[67]
In July 2007, Representative Scott Garrett proposed an amendment to strike money in a spending bill for native Alaskan and Hawaiian educational programs.[70] Young defended the funds on the House floor, saying, “You want my money, my money”[70] and “Those who bite me will be bitten back.”[70] He also suggested that conservative Republicans such as Garrett lost the Republicans their majority in the 2006 election by challenging spending earmarks, and made several critical remarks about Garrett’s state, New Jersey.[70] Garrett did not ask for an official reprimand, but other conservative Republicans took exception to Young’s claim that the funds in question were “his” money. Members of the conservative Republican Study Committee gave Garrett a standing ovation later in the day during the group’s weekly meeting and Virginia Foxx of North Carolina compared Young’s earmarks to “legal theft”.[70]
In 2008, the United States Department of Justice investigated Young’s role in steering $10 million into a Florida transportation project. In 2010, the investigation concluded with no charges against Young. In 2011, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a lawsuit seeking information on the investigation. Some documents were subsequently released, and a judge ordered the federal government to pay CREW $86,000 in legal fees.[71]
In 2010, when Democrat Charles Rangel of New York was censured for ethical violations, Young and Representative Peter T. King were the only two Republicans voting against censure.[72]
In 2012, Young endorsed then-Representative Mazie Hirono in the Democratic primary for the United States Senate.[74]
In March 2013, the House Ethics Committee created a special committee to investigate allegations that Young had improperly accepted gifts, used campaign funds for personal expenses, failed to report gifts in financial disclosure documents, and made false statements to federal officials.[75] Young said, “it will go forever. I’ve been under a cloud all my life. I’m sort of like living in Juneau. It rains on you all the time. You don’t even notice it.”[76] In 2014, the committee rebuked Young after finding he had failed to disclose gifts totaling over $60,000 between 2001 and 2013.[77][78]
In March 2013, Young used the ethnic slur “wetbacks” during a radio interview to describe Latino migrants who worked at his father’s ranch when he was growing up.[79] He issued a statement later that day saying that he “meant no disrespect” and that he “used a term that was commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in central California”.[80][81] Young later formally apologized for his remarks, saying, “I apologize for the insensitive term” and that “it was a poor choice of words.”[82]
In May 2016, Young wrote a letter to the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives stating that for 25 years he had failed to disclose his inherited interest in a family farm in California on which he and other family members had signed oil and gas leases; Young said the omissions to his financial reporting were accidental.[83]
On May 4, 2017, though he had indicated two months earlier that he would oppose repeal of the Affordable Care Act, he voted for its repeal. Governor Bill Walker said Alaska “would be the most negatively affected if the proposed legislation is signed into law as is. Alaskans already pay the highest health care premiums in the country.” U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski opposed the removal of the provision in the act that eliminated discrimination against those with preexisting conditions, saying it wasn’t “what Alaskans are telling me they think is an acceptable response.” It was estimated that annual policy costs for coverage under the state’s exchange would rise by $12,599.[84]
In September 2017, during a House floor debate on an amendment to the 2018 government spending package for wildlife management and national preserves in Alaska, Young made critical comments about Representative Pramila Jayapal, including calling the 51-year old Jayapal “young lady” and saying that she “doesn’t know a damn thing what she’s talking about” and that her speech on the amendment “was really nonsense. It was written by an interest group”. The exchange led to a temporary suspension of proceedings: upon their resumption, Young acknowledged in an address to the floor that his comments were “out of order” and apologized to Jayapal; she accepted.[88]
Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy rated Young among the most bipartisan members of Congress for the 115th and 116th Congresses.[89]
2021–2022
On May 19, 2021, Young introduced H.R.3361, the United States Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs Act of 2021, which would create a presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs who would represent the U.S. in matters relating to the Arctic before international bodies of which the U.S. is a member, foreign nations, and multilateral negotiations. No votes have been held on the bill.[90][91] On November 5, 2021, Young was among the 13 House Republicans to break with their party and vote with a majority of Democrats for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.[92] Former president Donald J. Trump castigated the 13 House Republicans who voted for the bill.[93]
Committee assignments
Congressman Donald Young visits the installation for the F-35 community showcase at Eielson Air Force Base
Young believed that abortion should be legal only when the pregnancy is a result of incest or rape or when a woman’s life is endangered by her pregnancy. He had addressed the issue of the time period in which abortions should be legal and said that he did not think abortions should be limited to the first trimester of pregnancy, and also had disagreed with the idea of federal subsidies prohibiting abortions.[104]
Arctic oil drilling
When President Trump signed an executive order that rolled back Obama-era restrictions on Arctic oil drilling, Young commended Trump for “recognizing the importance of development in the Arctic OCS”.[105]
The Arctic Refuge drilling controversy repeatedly brought Young into the national spotlight. He was a longstanding supporter of opening lands within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration. He included provisions to that effect in 12 bills that have passed the House,[106] but environmentalists concerned with the impact of road-building, pipelines and other development on the Arctic tundra landscape have successfully defeated such legislation in the Senate.[107]
On November 18, 2011, Young got into an argument during a Congressional hearing with Douglas Brinkley, a historian who teaches at Rice University in Texas, over the idea of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Young was not present for Brinkley’s testimony,[108] but still responded to it. He said his absence during Brinkley’s testimony was attributable to a pre-scheduled vote on the House floor. Young called Brinkley’s argument “garbage” and addressed Brinkley as “Mr. Rice”.[109] Brinkley responded with ad hominem remarks about Young’s education, saying, “I know you went to Yuba College and couldn’t graduate.” Young’s reaction, “I’ll say anything I want to say! You just be quiet!”, met with Brinkley’s refusal and response that Young “didn’t own [him]”, saying that as a taxpayer, he paid Young’s salary. The two continued arguing intermittently throughout the hearing, with the committee chair ultimately threatening Brinkley with removal.[110][111]
Arts funding
Young questioned public funding of the arts,[112] but in his later years supported legislation increasing funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).[113]
At an assembly at Fairbanks‘ West Valley High School in 1995, Young was answering questions about cutting federal funding for the arts. He said that such funding had “photographs of people doing offensive things,” and “things that are absolutely ridiculous.” When asked for an example, Young quickly replied “buttfucking“, in reference to Robert Mapplethorpe‘s photographic exhibition The Perfect Moment.[114] After receiving criticism for the use of that obscenity, Young explained his choice of words by saying he had tried “to educate” teens.[115]
Bridges
“Bridge to Nowhere”
In 2005, Young and Stevens earmarked $223 million for building the Gravina Island Bridge from Ketchikan to Gravina Island, which also contains Ketchikan’s airport. The bridge would be used for access by emergency vehicles, as well as passengers. There is a small ferry for cars and passengers that travels the .25-mile (0.40 km) crossing in three to seven minutes and runs every half-hour. Critics assailed this as pork barrel spending at taxpayers’ expense and The New York Times quoted Keith Ashdown, spokesman for the Taxpayers for Common Sense: “It’s a gold-plated bridge to nowhere.” “At a time when we have bridges and roads crumbling around the United States, and traffic congestion worse than ever, why build a $200 million project that will serve only a few hundred people?”[116][117] The Gravina Island Bridge was awarded a Golden Fleece Award by that organization in 2003.[118] After criticism from citizens and others in Congress, lawmakers de-funded the bridge and instead funneled the money to the Alaska Department of Transportation, allowing the governor of Alaska to build the Gravina Island Highway after the Alaska legislature funded the project with the directed monies.[119]
Knik Arm bridge
The Knik Arm Bridge was earmarked in the bill connects Anchorage to Point Mackenzie, a lightly populated area in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough that is less than four miles (6 km) across Cook Inlet from downtown Anchorage.[120] Anchorage is accessible from Point Mackenzie only by an 80-mile (130 km) route around Knik Arm, much of which was an unimproved road. The demise of this second bridge project has been suggested for years.[121]
Part of the concern about the bridge is that if it were built, it would significantly enhance the value of property in which Young’s son-in-law owned an interest.[122] Young was listed as the third-worst congressman by Rolling Stone, and dubbed “Mr. Pork” due to his involvement in the Gravina Island “Bridge to Nowhere”.[61]
Cannabis
Don Young with a cannabis plant at a facility in Alaska in 2019.
In 2020, Young was one of only five House Republicans to vote for the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act.[130][131] The act aimed to “correct the historical injustices of failed drug policies that have disproportionately impacted communities of color”; it included provisions to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, impose a federal tax on cannabis products, and use the proceeds of the tax to fund restorative justice programs.[132]
In 2021, Young introduced the Gun Rights and Marijuana (GRAM) Act to allow the ownership of firearms by people who use cannabis in accordance with state law.[133][134] Also in 2021, Young introduced the Cannabis Reform for Veterans, Small Businesses, and Medical Professionals Act to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and direct federal agencies to develop regulations for cannabis similar to alcohol.[135][136] Later in 2021 he was one of four original cosponsors of the Republican-led States Reform Act to legalize cannabis federally.[137]
October is National Energy Awareness Month, and the topic of energy production and its role in driving climate change — very rightfully — is as important a topic as ever. While the United States is leading the way in developing energy in significantly cleaner ways than countries like Russia, Venezuela and China, Democrats continue to promote a policy agenda that would cripple our economy and cause energy prices to skyrocket for American families.
Young had previously said that he did not believe in anthropogenic climate change and that the idea of global warming is “the biggest scam since the Teapot Dome.”[141] Despite these public statements, Young signed a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy that recognized the urgency behind combating climate change, writing, “We are confronting multiple and intersecting crises—the COVID-19 pandemic, an economy in turmoil, societal injustice, and, above all, the climate crisis—all of which demand swift and bold action.”[142] Young voted for the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which identifies climate change as a national security threat.[143] In a 2019 op-ed in The Hill, Young took a conciliatory position on climate change, and called for policy changes that could reduce carbon emissions.[140]
Young voted for the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act,[144] which included permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.[145]
Young supported exempting the Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule, saying, “An exemption will not only bring great economic benefit to Alaska but will also help bolster the long-term health of the Tongass National Forest. The Tongass is an invaluable natural resource and it requires active management. Unfortunately, the Roadless Rule has only prevented Alaskans from responsibly utilizing our resources.”[146]
Young supported an increase in the federal gasoline tax to keep pace with the continued rise in gasoline efficiency of automobiles.[147]
COVID-19
At a town hall in Palmer, Alaska, on March 13, 2020,[148] Young said of the pandemic, “This is blown out of proportion about how deadly this is.”[149] He continued, “It’s deadly but it’s not nearly as deadly as the other viruses we have … I call it the hysteria concept.”[149] Young later clarified that he was attempting to urge calm.[150] On March 17, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly in the U.S., he missed the vote on a $2 trillion bill to deal with pandemic, instead attending a National Rifle Association fundraiser.[151] As public awareness of the pandemic’s severity grew, Young walked back his comments. By March 25, in a video message, he said the impact of COVID-19 is “very real, growing,” and was reshaping our daily lives. Urging Americans to stay home, he continued, “Weeks ago, I did not truly grasp the severity of this crisis, but clearly we are in the midst of an urgent public health emergency.”[152]
On November 6, 2020, Young was photographed maskless at a birthday party for a staff member in an Anchorage restaurant. Numerous well-known political operatives who attended, including former Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell, soon tested positive for COVID-19.[153] On November 12, Young was diagnosed with COVID-19. He was admitted to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage that day and released on November 15, writing, “Very frankly, I had not felt this sick in a very long time, and I am grateful to everyone who has kept me in their thoughts and prayers.” He confirmed to a The Washington Post reporter that “many” of his campaign staff had been infected, as well as his wife, who he said was asymptomatic.[154][153]
Donald Trump
During the 2016 Republican presidential primary, Young originally supported Jeb Bush, and later John Kasich.[155] In April 2016, he said, “I’m not supporting Donald Trump”, and when asked about Trump’s success in the primaries, said that it was due to “a bunch of idiots following a pied piper over the edge of the cliff” and that he blamed the people who voted for Trump.[156] By December 2016, he was more supportive of Trump’s accomplishments and proposed policies.[157]
In September 2019, Young called the investigation and the Trump impeachment inquiry “a waste of time”.[58] He voted against the first[158] and second impeachments of Trump.[159]
Joe Biden
Congressman Young joins President Biden and Alaska senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan in the Oval Office as he signs Young’s Alaska Tourism Restoration Act into law.
On November 7, 2020, Young was one of the first Republicans to acknowledge and congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the 2020 presidential election.[160] On January 6, 2021, Young affirmed Biden’s victory by voting against the objections to counting electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania.[161][162]
As of October 2021, Young had voted in line with Joe Biden‘s stated position 30.6% of the time.[166]
Environmental regulation
Young said he believed the Environmental Protection Agency should not regulate greenhouse gases, and that it kills jobs.[167] He said, “Environmentalists are a self-centered bunch of waffle-stomping, Harvard-graduating, intellectual idiots” who “are not Americans, never have been Americans, never will be Americans.”[61] But Young supported omnibus spending bills that maintain current EPA funding levels despite calls from the Trump Administration to cut such funding.[168]
Young said he wanted to see a clean repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA),[170] but said in March 2017 that he would not vote on an earlier version of the AHCA (a healthcare plan to repeal and revise parts of the ACA) because it would have too negative an impact on health care costs in Alaska.[170]
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the AHCA would raise health care costs in Alaska more than in any other state, and by 2020, on average Alaskans would receive $10,243 less per year under the AHCA compared to the ACA for the same coverage, almost double the cost increase of any other state (the next being North Carolina with consumers receiving $5,360 less per year).[171] Young said, “Nothing in this new bill addressed the real problems of health care.”[170]
The AHCA would also stop the Medicaid expansion Obamacare provided, which gives health coverage to more than 27,000 of Young’s constituents, about 3.7% of the Alaska population.[171] For those reasons, Young was a key House member preventing the AHCA from going to a vote. When the AHCA did not pass, Young said it was a “victory for Alaska.”[170] But despite those statements, and being officially “undecided” because of the disproportionate impact on Alaskans, Young voted for the AHCA on May 4, 2017, without any significant changes to improving Alaska subsidies.[172]
An organization called Save My Care spent $500,000 to release a series of attack ads against 24 House members who voted for the AHCA, including one about Young that decried his vote, claiming it would raise health care costs for Alaskans.[173][174]
In 2015, Young was one of 60 Republicans voting to uphold President Barack Obama’s 2014 executive order banning federal contractors from making hiring decisions that discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity.[citation needed]
In 2015, Young issued a statement saying that while he believed marriage should be between a man and a woman, he recognizes that the law is settled on this issue, and stated that he accepts the Supreme Court decision ruling same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional.[176]
In 2021, Young was one of 29 Republicans to vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.[177] This bill expanded legal protections for transgender people, and contained provisions allowing transgender women to use women’s shelters and serve time in prisons matching their gender identity.[178]
In 2021, Young was one of 33 Republicans to vote for the LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act.[179]
Organized labor
Young frequently earned the support of organized labor, and in the 116th Congress, voted in support of the pro-union PRO Act, which would make it easier for workers to certify unions, augment how employers classify laborers and prevent laborers from being denied rights on the basis of their immigration status.[180]
Policing and criminal justice reform
Young voted to make lynching a federal crime and supported House passage of the First Step Act,[181] which reforms sentencing laws to reduce recidivism and decrease the federal inmate population.
Young voted for legislation authorizing the creation of a Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys.[184] In 2020, the bill was signed into law. The commission is intended to examine societal disparities that black men and boys face at disproportionately high rates.
In 2021, Young cosponsored and voted for the EQUAL Act, which eliminates the federal sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powdered cocaine.[185]
Post Office
On August 22, 2020, Young was one of 26 Republicans to vote for a $25 billion relief package for the U.S. Post Office.[186]
Suicide rate in Alaska
When asked about the fact that Alaska has the highest per capita suicide rate in the U.S., Young said that he believed it is at least partially the result of government handouts, and that “this suicide problem didn’t exist until we got largesse from the government.” He believed Alaska needs to cut public assistance programs.[112]
In response to an increase in suicides among active-duty service members at Fort Wainwright in 2019, Young called on the U.S. Army to investigate the cause of the increased suicide rate.[187]
On October 21, 2014, Young addressed an assembly of students at Wasilla High School shortly after a student there committed suicide. During a question and answer session, he said a lack of support from family and friends had caused the student’s suicide. During the assembly, Young also recalled a story about drinking alcohol in Paris, and used profanity several times, officials from the school reported.[112]
When a student criticized Young for his comments on suicide, Young called him an “asshole.” Young apologized for these comments on October 24, saying, “I am profoundly and genuinely sorry for the pain it has caused the Alaskan people.”[188][189]
Missing and murdered indigenous women and girls
In the 116th Congress, Young helped introduce the BADGES Act to help solve the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women.[190] He was one of 33 Republicans to vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act,[191] which included his amendment to help end violence against indigenous women.[192]
Town halls
Young said he did not believe in conducting town halls (district meetings for officials to meet and speak with constituents in a town hall setting). When he was asked for a face-to-face meeting with his constituents in April 2017, an aide said, “The modern town hall has taken an unfortunate turn as a ‘show’ for the media and are [sic] unproductive for meaningful dialogue.” Young’s meetings in Alaska were primarily with elected officials, business groups, service clubs, and gatherings of Republicans. On April 20, 2017, residents started a town hall meeting by themselves, speaking to Young through a video camera with a color photo of Young to represent him.[193]
In Juneau, while speaking to the Alaska Municipal League in 2018, Young asked the crowd, “How many millions of people were shot and killed because they were unarmed? Fifty million in Russia because their citizens were unarmed.” Facing criticism, Young’s office insisted that his comments were taken out of context, stating, “He was referencing the fact that when Hitler confiscated firearms from Jewish Germans, those communities were less able to defend themselves. He was not implying that an armed Jewish population would have been able to prevent the horrors of the Holocaust, but his intended message is that disarming citizens can have detrimental consequences.”[194]
Migrant detention facilities
In 2019, Young was the sole Republican to vote for the Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in Customs and Border Protection Custody Act, which set minimum standards for Customs and Border Patrol detention facilities, including requiring health screenings and ensuring that basic needs of detained migrants, such as access to food and water for detainees, are met.[195]
Don Young and Ann Garland Walton on their wedding day in 2015. John Boehner was Young’s best man.
Personal life
In 1963 Young married Lula Fredson, who worked as a bookkeeper in Fort Yukon.[4] She was an indigenous Gwich’in and the youngest child of early-20th-century Gwich’in leader John Fredson. She volunteered her time serving as the manager of Young’s Washington, D.C. congressional office. They had two daughters and were members of the Episcopal Church. Lula died on August 1, 2009, at age 67.[196]
On August 17, 2014, Young announced his engagement to Anne Garland Walton, a flight nurse from Fairbanks.[197] They married on June 9, 2015. She was 76 years old at the time.[198][199]
Death
On March 18, 2022, Young was on a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle while traveling en route to Alaska. Toward the end of the flight, he lost consciousness,[200][201] and was declared dead, aged 88, after the plane landed at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.[202][203] Also on the flight were his wife Ann Garland Walton and communications director Zack Brown.[204]
Young lay in state in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall on March 29, 2022, before his memorial service. He was the 43rd person to have this honor since 1852.[205]
^Greenwood, Max (August 19, 2020). “Young wins Alaska GOP House primary”. thehill.com. Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
^“Caucus Members”. The Coalition for the Life Sciences. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
^“Our Members”. U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
^Mauer, Richard (December 19, 2005). “Bridge would help Young’s son-in-law”. Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on May 5, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2008. To state Board of Fisheries chairman Art Nelson, Don Young’s Way, the proposed Knik Arm crossing named after his father-in-law, is hardly a bridge to nowhere. For Nelson and his well-connected partners in Point Bluff LLC, Rep. Don Young’s span is in fact a bridge to somewhere: their 60 acres of unobstructed view property on the Point MacKenzie side of Cook Inlet.
^“Election Statistics”. Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Archived from the original on December 26, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
Notes
^Went missing October 16, 1972 (before the election); declared dead December 29, 1972.
Bold – Presidents and chief justices • ‡ – Assassinated 1 Died in 1825, exhumed and honored before reinterment • 2 Later identified as 1st. Lt. Michael Blassie • 3 Lain in state in the National Statuary Hall, not in the US Capitol rotunda • 4 Lain in repose and Lain in state
Current Position: Governor since 2018 Affiliation: Republican Former Position(s): State Senator from 2013 – 2018
Quotes: I anticipate Secretary Haaland’s visit to the Last Frontier will provide her with a better understanding of the perils of federal overreach on the health and safety of Alaskans – especially our rural communities.
Featured Video: Executive Excellence: Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy
Gov. Mike Dunleavy urged more Alaskans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the state on Tuesday reported seven more deaths linked to the virus, near-record hospitalizations and nearly 700 new cases statewide.
The current surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations is pushing Alaska’s health care system to its limit. Providence Alaska Medical Center, the state’s largest hospital, announced in a letter Tuesday that it was implementing crisis standards of care and rationing medical care in response to an overwhelming number of COVID-19 patients that has forced providers to prioritize patients most likely to recover.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday morning in Juneau, Dunleavy said it’s clear to him that the state’s health care system is struggling to meet demand and health care workers are burning out.
”They definitely have hospital capacity issues. I’ve been there, I’ve been to a couple hospitals. And there are people working long hours, there are people leaving their jobs. This is shrinking our capacity,” he said.
The letter signed by Providence’s chief of staff describes an emergency room overflowing with patients, heart attack patients who are denied timely care, declined transfer requests from outlying rural hospitals and a strict no-visitor policy except for non-COVID patients who are dying.
Public health officials have said the best way for Alaskans to protect themselves and others from COVID-19, and protect hospital capacity, is to get vaccinated.
Current Position: Governor since 2018 Affiliation: Republican Former Position(s): State Senator from 2013 – 2018
Quotes: I anticipate Secretary Haaland’s visit to the Last Frontier will provide her with a better understanding of the perils of federal overreach on the health and safety of Alaskans – especially our rural communities.
Featured Video: Executive Excellence: Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy
Gov. Mike Dunleavy urged more Alaskans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the state on Tuesday reported seven more deaths linked to the virus, near-record hospitalizations and nearly 700 new cases statewide.
The current surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations is pushing Alaska’s health care system to its limit. Providence Alaska Medical Center, the state’s largest hospital, announced in a letter Tuesday that it was implementing crisis standards of care and rationing medical care in response to an overwhelming number of COVID-19 patients that has forced providers to prioritize patients most likely to recover.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday morning in Juneau, Dunleavy said it’s clear to him that the state’s health care system is struggling to meet demand and health care workers are burning out.
”They definitely have hospital capacity issues. I’ve been there, I’ve been to a couple hospitals. And there are people working long hours, there are people leaving their jobs. This is shrinking our capacity,” he said.
The letter signed by Providence’s chief of staff describes an emergency room overflowing with patients, heart attack patients who are denied timely care, declined transfer requests from outlying rural hospitals and a strict no-visitor policy except for non-COVID patients who are dying.
Public health officials have said the best way for Alaskans to protect themselves and others from COVID-19, and protect hospital capacity, is to get vaccinated.
Governor Mike Dunleavy arrived in Alaska in 1983 as a young man looking for opportunity, and he found it. His first job was working in a logging camp in Southeast Alaska. Later on, Governor Dunleavy pursued his dream of becoming a teacher. He earned his teacher’s certificate, and then a master of education degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He spent nearly two decades in northwest Arctic communities working as a teacher, principal, and superintendent.
Governor Dunleavy’s wife Rose is from the Kobuk River Valley community of Noorvik. Together, they have three children – Maggie, Catherine, and Ceil – who were raised in both rural and urban Alaska.
Governor Dunleavy and his family moved to Wasilla in 2004, where he owned an educational consulting firm and worked on a number of educational projects statewide. Dunleavy served on the Mat-Su Borough School Board, with two years as Board President, and then as a state senator for five years.
The Dunleavys enjoy spending time together as a family, often in Alaska’s great outdoors. Hunting, fishing, snowmachining, and camping are all favorite activities.
Governor Dunleavy is focused on moving Alaska forward and believes that our greatest years are yet to come if we work together to maximize our potential.
The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There are 40 House Districts (1–40) and 20 Senate Districts (A–T). With a total of 60 lawmakers, the Alaska Legislature is the smallest bicameral state legislature in the United States and the second-smallest of all state legislatures (only the 49-member unicameral Nebraska Legislature is smaller). There are no term limits for either chamber.
The Alaska Legislature meets in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska.
The current sitting is the 32nd Alaska State Legislature.
Of the seven Republicans who voted to convict former President Donald Trump, only Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is up for reelection in 2022. But a new Alaska election system with an open primary and ranked-choice voting may protect the incumbent.
Murkowski voted to convict the former president on Feb. 13 for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Murkowski told reporters after her vote that she stands by her decision regardless of its possible detrimental effects on her 2022 chances.
“This was consequential on many levels, but I cannot allow the significance of my vote to be devalued by whether or not I feel that this is helpful for my political ambitions,” Murkowski said.
The Senate acquitted Trump, falling 10 votes short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to convict. Murkowski was the first Repubican senator to publicly state that Trump should resign, telling the Anchorage Daily News that he “has caused enough damage.” She also told the paper that she blames Trump for Republicans’ Senate losses in Georgia.
Summary
The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There are 40 House Districts (1–40) and 20 Senate Districts (A–T). With a total of 60 lawmakers, the Alaska Legislature is the smallest bicameral state legislature in the United States and the second-smallest of all state legislatures (only the 49-member unicameral Nebraska Legislature is smaller). There are no term limits for either chamber.
The Alaska Legislature meets in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska.
The current sitting is the 32nd Alaska State Legislature.
Of the seven Republicans who voted to convict former President Donald Trump, only Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is up for reelection in 2022. But a new Alaska election system with an open primary and ranked-choice voting may protect the incumbent.
Murkowski voted to convict the former president on Feb. 13 for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Murkowski told reporters after her vote that she stands by her decision regardless of its possible detrimental effects on her 2022 chances.
“This was consequential on many levels, but I cannot allow the significance of my vote to be devalued by whether or not I feel that this is helpful for my political ambitions,” Murkowski said.
The Senate acquitted Trump, falling 10 votes short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to convict. Murkowski was the first Repubican senator to publicly state that Trump should resign, telling the Anchorage Daily News that he “has caused enough damage.” She also told the paper that she blames Trump for Republicans’ Senate losses in Georgia.
Of the seven Republicans who voted to convict former President Donald Trump, only Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is up for reelection in 2022. But a new Alaska election system with an open primary and ranked-choice voting may protect the incumbent.
Murkowski voted to convict the former president on Feb. 13 for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Murkowski told reporters after her vote that she stands by her decision regardless of its possible detrimental effects on her 2022 chances.
“This was consequential on many levels, but I cannot allow the significance of my vote to be devalued by whether or not I feel that this is helpful for my political ambitions,” Murkowski said.
The Senate acquitted Trump, falling 10 votes short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to convict. Murkowski was the first Repubican senator to publicly state that Trump should resign, telling the Anchorage Daily News that he “has caused enough damage.” She also told the paper that she blames Trump for Republicans’ Senate losses in Georgia.
Current Position: US Senator since 2003 Affiliation: Republican Candidate: 2022 US Senator Former Position(s): State Delegate from 1999 – 2002
Quotes: Supporting survivors of violence should never be a partisan issue. That’s why I’m thankful my colleagues on the Senate HELP Committee advanced the Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act I cosponsored alongside @SenBobCasey
Featured Video: Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski On The Damage Being Done by President Trump
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and colleagues introduced the Tax Gap Reform and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Enforcement Act, a bill to protect taxpayers and provide guardrails at the IRS while ensuring that the IRS has the tools and personnel it needs. The legislation is led by Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-Texas).
“I support enforcement of our tax laws to ensure that taxes owed are paid. However, I am concerned that efforts by the Biden Administration would expand the IRS’s monitoring activities excessively and impose inappropriate reporting requirements on bank accounts that threaten taxpayer rights and privacy. I’m supporting the Tax Gap Reform and IRS Enforcement Act, which will help to protect hardworking Alaskans by putting reporting guardrails in place while supporting the IRS’s need for experienced professionals,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski. “This legislation will work to reform the tax gap, protect taxpayers, require smarter enforcement practices, close the expertise gap at the IRS, and ensure that the middle class are not being treated unfairly. Protecting taxpayers while also requiring the IRS to improve its efficiency and practices is simply the right step.”
Key provisions of the Tax Gap Reform and IRS Enforcement Act:
Tax Gap Reform: Requires timely, annually-updated information on tax gap estimates in coordination with the Joint Committee on Taxation. Taxpayer Protection: Prevents the IRS from targeting Americans for their political and ideological beliefs, codifies President Biden’s pledge to not increase audits of taxpayers making less than $400,000 per year, and prohibits the establishment of new bank reporting requirements. Smarter Enforcement: Requires the IRS to use existing data and tools to improve its corporate audit selection process and increase enforcement against high-income non-filers. Closes the Expertise Gap: Creates an IRS enforcement fellowship pilot program to assist with the agency’s most complex audits and case selection decisions. Before hiring thousands of new agents, Congress should test the effectiveness of increasing expertise in a targeted way.
In addition to Senator Murkowski, original Senate co-sponsors include John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Mike Braun (R-Indiana), John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Mike Rounds (R-Nebraska), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) and Todd Young (R-Indiana).
Summary
Current Position: US Senator since 2003 Affiliation: Republican Candidate: 2022 US Senator Former Position(s): State Delegate from 1999 – 2002
Quotes: Supporting survivors of violence should never be a partisan issue. That’s why I’m thankful my colleagues on the Senate HELP Committee advanced the Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act I cosponsored alongside @SenBobCasey
Featured Video: Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski On The Damage Being Done by President Trump
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and colleagues introduced the Tax Gap Reform and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Enforcement Act, a bill to protect taxpayers and provide guardrails at the IRS while ensuring that the IRS has the tools and personnel it needs. The legislation is led by Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-Texas).
“I support enforcement of our tax laws to ensure that taxes owed are paid. However, I am concerned that efforts by the Biden Administration would expand the IRS’s monitoring activities excessively and impose inappropriate reporting requirements on bank accounts that threaten taxpayer rights and privacy. I’m supporting the Tax Gap Reform and IRS Enforcement Act, which will help to protect hardworking Alaskans by putting reporting guardrails in place while supporting the IRS’s need for experienced professionals,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski. “This legislation will work to reform the tax gap, protect taxpayers, require smarter enforcement practices, close the expertise gap at the IRS, and ensure that the middle class are not being treated unfairly. Protecting taxpayers while also requiring the IRS to improve its efficiency and practices is simply the right step.”
Key provisions of the Tax Gap Reform and IRS Enforcement Act:
Tax Gap Reform: Requires timely, annually-updated information on tax gap estimates in coordination with the Joint Committee on Taxation. Taxpayer Protection: Prevents the IRS from targeting Americans for their political and ideological beliefs, codifies President Biden’s pledge to not increase audits of taxpayers making less than $400,000 per year, and prohibits the establishment of new bank reporting requirements. Smarter Enforcement: Requires the IRS to use existing data and tools to improve its corporate audit selection process and increase enforcement against high-income non-filers. Closes the Expertise Gap: Creates an IRS enforcement fellowship pilot program to assist with the agency’s most complex audits and case selection decisions. Before hiring thousands of new agents, Congress should test the effectiveness of increasing expertise in a targeted way.
In addition to Senator Murkowski, original Senate co-sponsors include John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), Mike Braun (R-Indiana), John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Mike Rounds (R-Nebraska), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) and Todd Young (R-Indiana).
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska’s senior U.S. Senator, is a third generation Alaskan proudly serving as the first Alaskan born senator. Murkowski was born in Ketchikan and raised in towns across the state, including Wrangell, Juneau, Fairbanks, and Anchorage. She is married to Verne Martell and they have two grown sons. Lisa loves spending time in the Alaska outdoors. She’s an avid skier, has hiked on glaciers, enjoys fall duck hunts, and has a pretty impressive King Salmon mounted on her office wall.
Since joining the Senate in 2002, Senator Murkowski has worked tirelessly for Alaskans and earned a reputation in the Senate for her ability to work collaboratively and across the aisle to reach common sense solutions. Murkowski is well-known for her love and dedication to her state, which means putting Alaska first.
A leader on energy and public lands issues, Senator Murkowski recognizes that sound national policy will promote not only job creation and economic growth, but also higher standards of living and greater global stability. She supports the safe and efficient production and use of all forms of domestic energy, as well as research to help develop emerging technologies. Senator Murkowski continues to pursue policies to advance renewable energy, increase energy efficiency, and make America’s energy cleaner, more affordable, and more reliable.
Senator Murkowski has long-advocated for the Arctic as a national priority and continues to push the United States to invest in the infrastructure and assets critical to supporting an Arctic strategy. She is leading the charge to recapitalize and expand America’s fleet of icebreakers and has introduced legislation to raise the nation’s presence in the Arctic through two bills that support responsible research and development as well as giving those who live in the region a greater voice on policy and research.
Committees
Agencies; Defense; Energy and Water Development; Homeland Security; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies)
Ranking Member, Interior-Environment Subcommittee
Member, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Lisa Ann Murkowski (/mɜːrˈkaʊskiː/mur-KOW-skee; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the seniorUnited States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after Susan Collins of Maine. Like Collins, Murkowski is often described as one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate and a crucial swing vote. Murkowski became the dean of Alaska’s Congressional delegation upon Representative Don Young‘s death.
Murkowski is the daughter of former U.S. senator and governor of AlaskaFrank Murkowski. Before her appointment to the Senate, she served in the Alaska House of Representatives and was elected majority leader. She was controversially appointed to the Senate by her father, who resigned his seat in December 2002 to become governor of Alaska. Murkowski completed her father’s unexpired Senate term, which ended in January 2005.
Murkowski ran for and won a full term in 2004. After losing the 2010 Republican primary to Tea Party candidate Joe Miller, Murkowski ran as a write-in candidate and defeated both Miller and Democrat Scott McAdams in the general election. She is the second U.S. senator (after Strom Thurmond in 1954) to be elected by write-in vote. Murkowski was elected to a third term in 2016, running as a Republican.
Murkowski was vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference from 2009 to 2010. She served as chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee from 2015 to 2021, and has served as vice chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee since 2021.
Murkowski was born in Ketchikan in the Territory of Alaska, the daughter of Nancy Rena (née Gore) and Frank Murkowski.[1] Her paternal great-grandfather was of Polish descent, and her mother’s ancestry is Irish and French Canadian.[2] As a child, she and her family moved around the state with her father’s job as a banker.
Murkowski worked as an attorney in the Anchorage District Court Clerk’s office from 1987 to 1989.[6] From 1989 to 1998, she was an attorney in private practice in Anchorage. She served on the Mayor’s Task Force for the Homeless from 1990 to 1991.[7]
Alaska House of Representatives
In 1998, Murkowski was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives. Her District 18 included northeast Anchorage, Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base (now Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, or JBER), and suburban parts of Eagle River–Chugiak. In 1999, she introduced legislation establishing a Joint Armed Services Committee. She was reelected in 2000 and, after her district boundaries changed, in 2002. That year she had a conservative primary opponent, Nancy Dahlstrom, who challenged her because Murkowski supported abortion rights and rejected conservative economics. Murkowski prevailed by 56 votes.[8][9] She was named as House Majority Leader for the 2003–04 legislative session. She resigned her House seat before taking office, due to her appointment by her father to the seat he had vacated in the U.S. Senate, upon his stepping down to assume the Alaska governorship.[10] Murkowski sat on the Alaska Commission on Post Secondary Education and chaired both the Labor and Commerce and the Military and Veterans Affairs Committees. After she resigned to join the U.S. Senate, her father appointed Dahlstrom, the District Republican committee’s choice, as her replacement.[9]
U.S. Senate
Appointment
In December 2002, Murkowski—while a member of the state House—was appointed by her father, Governor Frank Murkowski, to fill his own U.S. Senate seat made vacant when he resigned from the Senate after being elected governor.
The appointment caused controversy in Alaska. Many voters disapproved of the nepotism. Her appointment eventually resulted in a referendum that stripped the governor of his power to directly appoint replacement Senators.[11] Along with others eligible to be considered, future Alaska governor Sarah Palin interviewed unsuccessfully for the seat.[8]
Elections
Murkowski in 2005
Murkowski has won three full terms to the Senate, but has never won a majority of the vote; she won 48.6% of the vote in 2004, 39.5% in 2010, and 44.4% in 2016.[12]
Murkowski ran for a full Senate term against former Governor Tony Knowles in the 2004 election after winning a primary challenge by a large margin. She was considered vulnerable due to the controversy over her appointment, and polling showed the race was very close. The centrist Republican Main Street Partnership, which wanted to run TV ads for Murkowski, was told no airtime was left to buy.[13] Near the end of the campaign, senior U.S. Senator Ted Stevens shot ads for Murkowski and claimed that if a Democrat replaced Murkowski, Alaska would likely receive fewer federal dollars.[citation needed] Murkowski defeated Knowles by a narrow margin.
Murkowski faced the most difficult election of her career in the August 24, 2010, Republican Party primary election against Joe Miller, a former U.S. magistrate judge[14] supported by former GovernorSarah Palin.[15][16] The initial results showed her trailing Miller, 51–49%, with absentee ballots yet to be tallied.[17] After the first round of absentee ballots were counted on August 31, Murkowski conceded, saying that she did not believe that Miller’s lead could be overcome in the next round of absentee vote counting.[18][19]
After the primary, the Murkowski campaign floated the idea of her running as a Libertarian in the general election.[20] But on August 29, 2010, the state Libertarian Party executive board voted not to consider Murkowski as its Senate nominee.[21]
On September 17, 2010, Murkowski said that she would mount a write-in campaign for the Senate seat.[22] Her campaign was aided in large part by substantial monetary assistance from Native corporations and PACs, as well as state teachers’ and firefighters’ unions.[23]
On November 17, 2010, the Associated Press reported that Murkowski had become only the second Senate candidate (after Strom Thurmond in 1954) to win a write-in campaign, thereby retaining her seat.[24][25] She emerged victorious after a two-week count of write-in ballots showed she had overtaken Miller.[26][27] Miller did not concede.[27] U.S. Federal District Judge Ralph Beistline granted an injunction to stop the certification of the election due to “serious” legal issues and irregularities Miller raised about the hand count of absentee ballots.[28] On December 10, 2010, an Alaskan judge dismissed Miller’s case, clearing the way for Murkowski,[29] but on December 13, Miller appealed the Alaska Superior Court decision of the previous week to the Alaska Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court rejected Miller’s appeal on December 22.[30] On December 28, U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline dismissed Miller’s lawsuit. Governor Sean Parnell certified Murkowski as the winner on December 30.[31]
After securing the Republican Party nomination by a wide margin, Murkowski was again reelected to the Senate in 2016. Joe Miller, this time the Libertarian Party nominee, was again the runner-up.
In 2017, Murkowski filed to run for a fourth term in 2022.[33] Due to her opposition to some of his initiatives and her vote to convict him during his second impeachment trial, former President Donald Trump has pledged since June 2020 to campaign against Murkowski, implicitly endorsing a primary challenge in the process.[34][35] Of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump, Murkowski is the only one up for reelection in 2022, and after the trial, Alaska’s GOP censured her and demanded her resignation.[35] Despite Trump’s pledge, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell signaled Republican senators’ commitment to back Murkowski’s 2022 campaign.[36]
On June 18, 2021, Trump endorsed former Alaska Department of Administration commissioner Kelly Tshibaka for Senate in 2022, calling her “MAGA all the way”.[37] Murkowski later called Tshibaka “apparently…someone with a pulse”,[38] referencing Trump’s previous statement that “if [any 2022 Murkowski challenger has] a pulse, [he is] with [them]”.[39] On July 10, 2021, the Alaska Republican Party endorsed Tshibaka.[40]
Murkowski is considered a moderate Republican.[41][42] Since she was reelected in 2010, some have deemed her voting record “more moderate” than that of her previous years in the Senate.[43] In 2013, the National Journal gave Murkowski a composite score of 56% conservative and 45% liberal[44] and ranked her the 56th most liberal and 44th most conservative member of the Senate.[45]
According to GovTrack, Murkowski is the second most liberal Republican senator and, as of 2017, is placed by GovTrack’s analysis to the left of all Republicans except Susan Collins, and to the left of Democratic Senator Joe Manchin.[46]The New York Times arranged Republican senators by ideology and also ranked Murkowski the second most liberal Republican.[47][48] According to FiveThirtyEight, which tracks Congressional votes, she voted with Trump’s position approximately 72.6% of the time as of January 2021.[49] According to FiveThirtyEight, as of April 2022, Murkowski has voted with Biden’s position about 69% of the time.[50] According to CQ Roll Call, Murkowski voted with President Barack Obama‘s position 72.3% of the time in 2013, one of only two Republicans voting for his positions over 70% of the time.[51] According to the American Conservative Union’s Center for Legislative Accountability, Murkowski has a lifetime conservative score of 56.72.[52] The liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave her a score of 10% in 2019.[53]
In a March 2019 op-ed for The Washington Post, Murkowski and Joe Manchin wrote that climate change debate in Congress was depicted as “an issue with just two sides—those who support drastic, unattainable measures to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and those who want to do nothing” and affirmed their support for “adopting reasonable policies that maintain that edge, build on and accelerate current efforts, and ensure a robust innovation ecosystem.”[57]
In December 2020, during his lame-duck period, Trump vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.[58] The veto left new Coast Guardcutters that were scheduled to be homeported in Alaska without port facilities to maintain them.[58] Murkowski issued a press release that said, in part, “It’s incredible that the President chose to veto the annual National Defense Authorization Act, particularly because his reason for doing so is an issue not related to national defense.”[58]
After Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, Murkowski said Trump should resign for inciting the insurrection. With this call for his resignation, she became the first Republican in the Senate to say that Trump should leave office before the inauguration of Joe Biden. When asked whether she would remain a Republican, she replied, “if the Republican Party has become nothing more than the party of Trump, I sincerely question whether this is the party for me”,[59] but added, “I have absolutely no desire to move over to the Democratic side of the aisle. I can’t be somebody that I’m not.”[60] On May 27, 2021, along with five other Republicans and all present Democrats, Murkowski voted to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. The vote failed for lack of 60 required “yes” votes.[61] She was one of seven Republican senators to vote on February 13, 2021, to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial. That vote failed for lack of a two-thirds majority.[62]
Murkowski, along with all other Senate and House Republicans, voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.[63] On September 30, 2021, she was among the 15 Senate Republicans to vote with all Democrats and both Independents for a temporary spending bill to avoid a government shutdown.[64][65] On October 7, 2021, Murkowski voted with 10 other Republicans and all members of the Democratic caucus to break the filibuster of raising the debt ceiling.[66][67] However, she voted with all Republicans against the bill to raise the debt ceiling.[68] On February 5, 2022, Murkowski joined Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson in condemning the Republican National Committee‘s censure of Representatives Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney for supporting and participating in the Select Committee of the U.S. House that was tasked with investigating the January 6, 2021 United States Capitol attack.[69] The RNC contended that the Capitol riot was “legitimate political discourse.”[69]
Lisa Murkowski and Verne Martell pose with Jeff King during the ceremonial start of the 2019 Iditarod.
Murkowski is married to Verne Martell.[83] They have two sons, Nicolas and Matthew.[84] Murkowski is Roman Catholic.[85]
As of 2018, according to OpenSecrets.org, Murkowski’s net worth was more than $1.4 million.[86]
Property sale controversy
In July 2007, Murkowski said she would sell back land she bought from Anchorage businessman Bob Penney, a day after a Washington watchdog group filed a Senate ethics complaint against her alleging that Penney sold the property well below market value.[87] The Anchorage Daily News wrote, “The transaction amounted to an illegal gift worth between $70,000 and $170,000, depending on how the property was valued, according to the complaint by the National Legal and Policy Center.”[87] According to the Associated Press, Murkowski bought the land from two developers tied to the Ted Stevens probe.[88]
In 2008, Murkowski amended her Senate financial disclosures for 2004 through 2006, adding income of $60,000 per year from the sale of a property in 2003, and more than $40,000 a year from the sale of her “Alaska Pasta Company” in 2005.[89]
^Bolstad, Erika (October 1, 2010). “Alaska’s Murkowski failed bar exam 4 times”. McClatchy Newspapers. Archived from the original on 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2016-02-16. Murkowski, who graduated in 1985 from Willamette University’s College of Law in Oregon, wasn’t admitted to the Alaska Bar until November 1987. She flunked the exam in July 1985, February 1986, July 1986 and again in February 1987. She passed on her fifth try in July 1987.
^Cave, Damien (2010-08-25). “Murkowski of Alaska Locked in a Tight Senate Race”. New York Times. Archived from the original on 2010-08-25. Retrieved 2010-08-25. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, whose family has held a decades-long grip on one of the state’s two Senate seats, was in a surprisingly tight race Wednesday morning against an insurgent candidate, a Tea Party favorite who received the backing of Sarah Palin.
^Cockerham, Sean (2010-08-31). “It’s another Tea Party win as Alaska’s Murkowski concedes”. Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2010-09-01. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski late Tuesday conceded the Republican primary election to Joe Miller, the Tea-Party backed challenger who maintained his Election Day lead after thousands of additional absentee and other ballots were counted through the day.
^Memoli, Michael A. (2010-08-27). “Libertarians an option for Murkowski”. Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2010-08-30. Retrieved 2010-08-28. The state Libertarian Party told the Anchorage Daily News that it was open to the possibility of nominating Murkowski as a third-party candidate, a notion that her campaign is not embracing but has not ruled out.
^Bohrer, Becky (2010-09-18). “Murkowski mounting write-in bid for Alaska Senate”. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2010-09-21. Retrieved 2010-09-18. Murkowski faces tough odds with her write-in candidacy. She has lost support from members within the Republican establishment, who are backing the Republican nominee, Joe Miller.
^(Journalist), Barnes, James A.; Keating, Holland; Charlie, Cook; Michael, Barone; Louis, Jacobson; Louis, Peck. The almanac of American politics 2016 : members of Congress and governors: their profiles and election results, their states and districts. ISBN 9781938518317. OCLC927103599.
^ abcRobert Woolsey (2020-12-27). “Trump’s Defense veto could sink Sitka’s Coast Guard dock”. KCAW. Archived from the original on 2020-12-28. Retrieved 2020-12-28. Sitka was selected as a homeport for one of the six vessels. And while the actual ship itself doesn’t appear in jeopardy, there might not be anyplace to put it, if the veto stands.
^“Murkowski-Martell”. Anchorage Daily News. August 14, 1987. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
^Bighash, Leila (October 2010). “Is Lisa Murkowski Married?”. Politics Daily. AOL News. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
Current Position: Governor since 2018
Current Position: US Senator since 2003
Current Position: US Representative since 1973
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
